Letters from a Matchmaker
by Nezumi's Cheese
Summary: Neji wasn't really the type to be romantic. However, one day, Neji decides to play matchmaker for Hinata and Naruto! His girlfriend, Tenten, wonders how he is going to pull this off. NejiTen. Naruhina.


Okay, I'm bored. I'm kinda stuck in the mud right now. I need to write something. So, I'm gonna attempt to write a NejiTen one-shot. First one, hopefully, it ain't that bad. The characters might be a bit OOC.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

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The Chinese girl played with a kunai as she watched the pale boy writing briskly on a piece of fancy stationary paper. She sighed and frowned in impatience. "When are you going to be done with that? You've been doing that for the past one hour ever since six A.M.!"

The pale boy turned to her with a sign of aggravation. "Not yet, Tenten. Give me a few minutes and I'll be done."

"So slow Neji…" she muttered as she swung her legs on his bed. Pretty soon, like Neji said, he was done. He put the scroll up and glanced at it before turning to Tenten. He shoved it into his robe and blinked at her.

"All right, what do you want to do today?"

Tenten lightened up and sat up. "I want to train more today."

"Again?"

"What? Nothing beats training!" Tenten blinked innocently, earning a roll of the eyes from her boyfriend.

"I was thinking of something else today, actually." Neji said emotionless. Looking up curiously, she stood up and stared at him.

"Well, what is it?"

Neji reached into his robe and held out the paper he was writing on before. Tenten peered at it curiously before looking at him in confusion. "It doesn't look like your handwriting. It's…" She wrinkled her nose. "Girly…."

"Good. It's meant to be." Neji answered swiftly as Tenten's eyes roam on the paper.

_Naruto, you are a very skilled, impressive, and brave ninja. I admire you greatly and want to be with you for once. Please go out with me. It will be greatly appreciated._

_-Hinata Hyuuga_

"You-you…" Tenten stuttered in disbelief. "You're trying to hook Hinata and Naruto up?!"

Neji crossed his arms and nodded his head. "My cousin has been watching in the stands for too long. It's getting rather annoying to see her trying to confess to him but running away before she says it. It's even more disturbing to see a sudden amount of crumpled love confessions in the trash can."

The Chinese girl smiled before poking Neji's cheek playfully. "Aww, so you do care for her."

Neji narrowed his eyes in indignation. "I do not. I am awfully getting annoyed with Hinata's constant fawning over Naruto. It should be time she should have a chance with him."

"See? You do! Except in your own little harsh way!" she said with a triumphant smirk. Neji looked away and scowled in annoyance before heading towards the door. A hand clamped on his shoulder. Tenten.

"What?"

Tenten snatched the letter from him and gave a look of distaste. "Way to go with the romantic theme, Neji. It's sounds like an order more like a request."

Neji shrugged and took the letter back into his robe. "There's absolutely nothing wrong with it."

"Hey-" Tenten called out to make him come back but he was already out the door. Sighing, she shrugged her shoulders and ran after him. She caught up to him and opened the door. "Where are we going, Neji?"

"By Naruto's house." answered Neji. Tenten nodded before clasping her hands together and looking up towards the cloudless sky. This is going to interesting. Neji, a matchmaker? She laughed to herself at the amusing thought, earning a questioning look from the other. Soon, they reached the end of the dusty path to the blond's house and stopped in front of his mailbox. With a quick swipe of the hand, Neji placed the letter in the box. He began to walk away, nearly leaving Tenten behind.

"Wait! Naruto likes Sakura, remember?" Tenten commented hurriedly. Neji waved the comment away with a dismissive hand.

"I could care less. Naruto cares enough about his teammates to give them a chance." Neji replied flawlessly. Tenten sighed at Neji's matter-of-factly statement. Neji appeared to be a zero in romance but somehow, Tenten still loved him though. Being friends with him for a long time, she couldn't help but fall for his silent and cold charm. It was somewhat more appealing than Sasuke's. Tenten thought that Neji just had trouble showing affection. However, she knew him well enough to know that he loved her too.

"So, are we just going to sit back and watch now?" Tenten asked. Neji shook his head in response.

"No, we're going to push Hinata a little after Naruto accepts her request for a date." Neji answered quietly.

"You're really enthusiastic about this, aren't you?" Tenten said with an eyebrow raising in amusement.

"Hmph."

One hour later…

Naruto yawned and scratched his head as he went outside in his orange and black pajamas. He looked up towards the broad daylight and cursed. Stupid sun. He strolled lazily towards his mailbox and opened it. He blinked as he spotted a neatly folded paper sitting in it. He reached for it, grabbed it, and opened it. His eyes skimmed through the letter before cocking his head to the side. "Hinata?"

He read the letter one more time to see if he read it correctly. He rubbed the back of his neck in thought. Maybe, he ought to pay Hinata a visit today. Where is she at this particular time? He looked towards the sky in thought and in an effort to remember. Slowly, it dawned on him. Right, the training grounds. Naruto mentally jot down on his list to visit the girl first thing in the morning.

He threw on a T-shirt and a pair of shorts since he didn't have any missions assigned to him today. He sighed in disappointment. He couldn't visit and hang out with Sakura today. Oh well….

0.o.0.o.0.

The kunoichi and the ninja walked down towards a restaurant for a bite to eat. After ordering, Tenten peered at Neji who was busy staring out the window in thought. Sighing, she pulled out a kunai and began to twirl it on her finger. She nearly jumped when Neji's voice suddenly slashed the silence. "I thought you know this kind of matchmaking stuff already."

Tenten crossed her arms at the offending insult. "Of course I do! Naturally, girls have their worth too, you know! You just have a weird way of trying to put them together! I don't see how it's going to work!"

"Whatever."

Their food was served as they chatted a bit more and ate. They paid for their food and left. They continued to walk all the way to the training grounds outside of the village. Tenten was busy arguing of the unlikely chance of Naruto taking that request seriously. "I mean, come on, Neji! That idea is a bit over the head, is it?"

Suddenly, Neji's arm went out and pushed her behind a tree. She halted to a stop and opened her mouth before Neji's hand silenced her. He pointed a hand towards the grounds. Tenten's eyes followed and she had to stifle a gasp of disbelief as she witness her boyfriend's cousin talking and blushing with Naruto. Neji couldn't help but let a smirk tug on his lips.

"Well?"

The girl glared at him before she continued to watch the scene blossoming before them in silence and hiding.

0.o.0.o.0

"A d-date?" Hinata stuttered in disbelief as Naruto showed her the letter. She didn't remember any love letter.

"Yeah, you're the one who send it to me, remember?" Naruto blinked, cocking his head to the side. Hinata opened her mouth to deny it before remembering something from a long time ago that pushed her to seize the chance to be with Naruto not as friends, but as a boy and girl. She nodded, blushing. Naruto laughed sheepishly.

"All right, then. Where to?" Naruto asked good-naturedly.

"Eh…..?" Hinata pondered for a moment before blurting out a place. "Ichiraku's."

Naruto blinked in shock. Since when was Hinata interested in ramen? Feeling a smile tug on his lips, he smiled before nodding. "Sure!"

0.o.0.o.0.

Tenten stared at the couple for a while in disbelief before Neji pulled her away. She sighed and glared at Neji. "Okay, so you win. But, Ichiraku's doesn't seem to be romantic at all."

Neji seemed unfazed and turned to began to walk. Tenten caught up to him and waved a hand in his face. "Weren't you listening?"

"…."

"Ugh, your plan is going to fail, Neji, I know it." Tenten put her hands in her hips in a disapproving way, still, Neji walked away. Tenten followed him from behind as she looked at him suspiciously. _Just what are you planning, Neji?_

0.o.0.o.0.

Hinata and Naruto ate at Ichiraku's before paying the bill. Hinata offer to pay the bill herself before Naruto stopped her by handing in his own cash which surprised her since Naruto would freeload off of people when given the chance. Maybe, it was because she was a girl.

"L-Let's walk around the village. It'll help our stomachs digest." she suggested hesitantly. Naruto shrugged and began to walk with her. Soon, they started to be deep in conversation. Naruto seem hesitant at his feelings for Sakura all of a sudden. Even though he knew her for a long time, he learned many things that he never knew about Hinata before through their conversation together. He thought that the girl was strong and shy and all but now, it seems that there was so much more of her. Was he falling in love with her?

0.o.0.o.0.

_Naruto, I've enjoyed our date yesterday. It was interesting and quite enjoyable. Please meet me at the bookstore today at twelve o' clock. It will also be greatly appreciated._

_-Hinata Hyuuga_

_P.S. Sorry if I am not that good in dating._

Again with the girly and neat handwriting, Neji managed to copy Hinata's writing style and more criticism from his beloved girlfriend. Tenten couldn't help but have a hunch that the letters were from somewhere before.

"So, how are we going to lure Hinata into the bookstore? Say that Naruto invite her to the bookstore?"

"What else?"

Neji strolled downstairs and knocked quietly on Hinata's door. The door opened to reveal a pale and slightly tired girl. "Neji? What are you doing here?"

"I received a message from your boyfriend." Neji muttered with Tenten behind him. Hinata blushed ten-fold at the comment before desperately trying to rub it away with her hands. Rolling his eyes, Neji continued. "He told me on the phone this morning that he wants to meet you at the bookstore today at twelve thirty."

"Oh?!" Hinata gasped. She blinked at her sudden stroke of luck. She smiled happily with love and gratitude in her eyes. "Oh, thank you, Neji!"

"…"

Neji left without a word with Tenten trailing behind him. She seemed troubled. Letters? A restaurant? A bookstore? All of this seemed familiar somewhere…. "Neji?"

"Hmm?"

"Why does this stuff…you know…" She shook her troubled thoughts away before smiling again. "Wait…never mind…"

The two reached Naruto's house once more and placed the letter in the box.

0.o.0.o.0.

Naruto, again, woke up at twelve. It wasn't much progress but at least he woke up. He checked his mailbox again only to see the familiar fancy stationary letter folded and sitting in his box. Scratching his head, he automatically thought of Hinata. Sure enough, he saw her handwriting printed on the piece of paper. He felt a warm feeling bubbling in his stomach. Naruto went to the bookstore before with Sakura and Sasuke sometimes but never saw anything interesting in it. However, this time, his mind urge him to say yes. He wondered why. Naruto smiled to himself and decided to accept it before thumping himself at the head when he looked at the time. If he didn't get ready now, he'll be late!

Quickly, he threw some clothes on and ate some breakfast. By the time he was done, he glanced at the clock. Good god, it was twelve twenty right now! He was late! Groaning, he teleported to the bookstore to make his time shorter. However, he noticed that Hinata wasn't here yet. Maybe, she was running late too! Thank god!

Hinata sighed and decided to come a bit earlier to the bookstore. She didn't know that Naruto had a thing for books. She glanced at her watch and saw that she was five minutes early. When she looked up, she saw Naruto looking anxiously for someone. She couldn't help but feel a blush on her face as she look at his desperate expression. She came up behind him timidly and tapped him on the shoulder. Naruto slightly jumped before laughing in embarrassment. They went into the bookstore quietly.

"So, thanks for, you know, the date." Naruto said.

"No, t-hank y-you." Hinata stuttered, mortified.

They blinked at each other before laughing quietly in unison. Hinata turned to him and asked, "What are your favorite books? Is it those books that your mentor, Jiraiya, written?"

Wrinkling his nose in distaste, Naruto shook his head furiously. No, never. Those porn books aren't worth anything! "What are your favorite books, then, Naruto?"

He pondered for a second before shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know actually. But, for sure, it's not those porn books!"

So, Naruto didn't focus much on reading. Hinata pondered why he chose this particular place for their date. "Hinata, you like reading a lot, right?"

Hinata nodded happily then gasped mentally, did Naruto invite her here because of her interests? "Y-yeah, I like all kinds of books! I never tried reading Icha Icha Paradise though. Since it was a well-known book maybe, I'll read it when I get to the age."

Naruto frantically waved his hands in fright. "Don't. You WILL get mentally-scarred."

She giggled before pulling on his hand. "I'll show some books that I think you might be interested in."

She pulled in him into the cooking section and fingered the spines of the books before letting out a short gasp in triumph and pulling out a book. Naruto peered behind her and his mouth watered. There, on the cover, was an enlarged picture of a bowl of ramen. "Wow…"

Hinata giggled before opening the book. Naruto's eyes grew as wide as saucers. She blushed before speaking. "You know, when I first saw this book, I-I thought of you."

"They sure look tasty. Too bad anything I make is pretty much inedible." Naruto sighed wistfully with eyes looking downcast.

"My mother….gave me a few lessons on how to cook. I think….I can follow it.." she said hesitantly.

"I prefer to take the ones at Ichiraku's. It's faster." he pouted, cocking his head to the side. She let out a soft laugh.

"Quite true but I heard that home-made is supposed to be healthier despite the time-consuming process. Not to mention, tastier." she declared happily. Naruto looked taken back before smirking at her.

"I'll challenge you then. Prove me wrong! Make me a bowl of ramen! I'll see if it's better than Ichiraku's!" he crowed, earning a few 'shhs' from the people around them, busily reading. Hinata couldn't help but smile. "I'll try then."

She carried the book the register and was about to pay for it before Naruto's hand stopped her and his own money came forth. He smiled playfully at her. "If you're going to make ramen that's better than Ichiraku's, I better pay for it, first!"

0.o.0.o.0.

Hinata happily came back, hugging the cookbook tightly in her arms. She bid him good bye and went back home. She was about to enter her room before a voice spoke out, stopping her.

"You look awfully happy. What happened, Hinata?"

She turned to see Tenten smirking at her. She flushed deep crimson and looked at the ground in embarrassment. "He wants me….to cook for him."

Tenten gasped in surprise. So quick! She scratched her head sheepishly. "He must really like you, doesn't he, Hinata?"

Hinata looked away in embarrassment and nodded slightly. Tenten slapped her on the back. "Way to go, tiger! Go get him!"

"Quite encouraging are you, Tenten?" Neji's voice spoke out, surprising both of them. Tenten gave a playful glare before leaning lazily on the doorframe. "Just helping her, Neji. Well, see you, Hinata! Go get him!"

She stood up and grabbed Neji's hand.

0.o.0.o.0.

_Naruto, I did enjoy yesterday's date. Maybe today, if it isn't an inconvenience to you, may I meet you at the movies at six? We could watch any movie you want to see. It will be also appreciated._

_-Hinata Hyuuga_

_P.S. I'm still working on the ramen recipe._

That was the next letter sent. Neji followed with the usual prank procedure and pretty soon, Hinata and Naruto was at the movies together. Somehow, Tenten turned the couple's date into a double date when she decided that she was bored and wanted to watch a movie herself. So, Neji and Tenten went on a movie date together. Naruto and Neji decided to let the girls choose the movie, praying that it won't be some chick flick they had to suffer through. Luckily, Hinata and Tenten didn't and went for a comedy movie instead. The four enjoyed the movie. Wait, scratch that. The three enjoyed the movie, meaning Naruto, Hinata, and Tenten. They couldn't even tell of Neji even liked it since his face was kept at the same expression during the whole movie. Oh well….

However, Naruto and Hinata enjoyed it a lot and laughed and talked about the funny parts in the movie. At least, they enjoyed themselves. Tenten noticed that they seemed more closer to each other than before.

0.o.0.o.0.

_Naruto, I really liked the movie yesterday. It was quite enjoyable. Please go to my house at one. I should already have completed your little ramen challenge by then. It will be greatly appreciated._

_-Hinata Hyuuga_

_P.S. I think I did succumb into something call 'love.'_

"Why can't you just say 'I love you.' That's good enough." Tenten commented, clicking her tongue. Neji narrowed his eyes.

"It's too soft." he answered offended.

"Oh, I get it! You care too much about your pride and wrote some fancy stuff that means the same thing so you don't have to write it." Tenten said triumphantly. However, a thought itched her head. Those words at the end…They seem awfully familiar. Too familiar….

After dropping off the letter at Naruto's house, they chatted more. "What's the next step, Mr. Matchmaker?"

"We'll pass the time by going to the training grounds and practicing." Neji answered. "We'll come back around one-ten."

Shrugging, she pulled a kunai out and walked lazily towards the grounds with Neji. There, they practiced their skills.

"Ready?"

"Hmph."

A kunai flew.

"Eight Palm Rotation!"

0.o.0.o.0.

Hinata went about the kitchen nervously as she began to follow the ramen recipe. She sighed in hesitation. Everyone in the village knew that Ichiraku's was an admirable place for ramen. Maybe, she should give up…No! She tightened her fists and tied back her hair. Not yet. Soon, after a few hours, she deemed the ramen worthy for Naruto's taste.

Exhausted, she threw herself on the sofa and fell asleep. Later, the doorbell rung. She fell off the sofa in surprise and stumble to her feet to reach the door.

"Hey, Hinata!" Naruto greeted cheerfully. Hinata led him inside with a kind smile into the kitchen.

"Nice place you got here." he murmured as his head turned to take in the picture of the house. Hinata carefully set the bowl of steaming ramen in front of Naruto. He blinked at it as his mouth started to unconsciously watered. Hinata sat on a nearby chair, eager and nervous for his response. Taking his pair of chopsticks, he took a bite out of it. Another. Then, another. "It's…it's good…"

"…I'm so glad…" Hinata sighed out, as if she'd been holding her breath. She watched gladly as Naruto wolfed down on her food.

"This does rival Ichiraku's." Naruto commented in disbelief. Hinata looked away in embarrassment. "It's not that good."

"Heck yeah, it is!"

Naruto finished the bowl down in a few minutes, leaving a little time to savor the taste. He turned to Hinata. "Can you make me another of this next time?"

"S-sure." she stuttered, mortified. Naruto smiled and stood up from his chair. "Close your eyes."

Hinata's eyes closed and it wasn't long before she felt a quick peck on her lips. Her eyes immediately opened and her face went bright red. Naruto scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Let that be the payment, okay?"

"Y-yeah…" she murmured. Suddenly, Naruto's smile vanished as he turned around. "You can come out now. You can't hide."

Silence soon followed. Naruto put his hands on his hips in annoyance. "Still playing this game? You can come out, you know. I already know you're here."

A few pregnant pauses later, a voice emerged from the other room. "Give it up, Neji. He found us."

Tenten walked into the kitchen with Neji behind her. Hinata and Naruto stared at them in surprise. "What are you doing here?!"

"What do you know, Neji? Your plan worked!" Tenten snickered. Hinata blinked at them confused. Neji crossed his arms and looked away.

"Neji, Tenten, what is this about?" Naruto asked slowly. Twirling a kunai lazily around her finger, Tenten leaned against the doorframe.

"Neji, you're really good at forging. That's for sure. Naruto sure fell for it."

"Fell for what?"

Tenten nearly fell from the frame. "The letters, stupid!"

Naruto scratched his chin in thought. "Oh, those letters. Didn't Hinata write them, though?"

"What letters? I never gave you any letters." Hinata chimed in. Opening his mouth to speak, he turned to Hinata then to Neji then to Hinata again.

"What's going on?"

"Well, Neji here, decides to be generous this week. He's the only reason why you two are brought together. I'm surprised it worked really well." Tenten explained, earning a glare from Neji. Naruto pointed at Neji in disbelief and laughed.

"Neji?!" Hinata repeated in shock.

"That was totally unexpected. So, the dates and everything were planned by you?" Naruto asked in disbelief. Tenten gave a cute nod in response.

"Umm, Naruto? Can you show me the letters Neji sent you?" Hinata requested worried.

"Oh, sure." Naruto reached into his pocket to pull up a crumpled piece of paper. Hinata's eyes quickly scanned through it before saying, "This doesn't even come close to my handwriting."

"Sorry, Hinata. I never saw you write anything before." Naruto apologized. "Though I thought it was a bit weird at first. The letter seemed more like a formal invitation to something more than a date with the line, 'it will be greatly appreciated.' That was a little weird."

The air around them became tense.

"Well, what's done is done." Tenten clapped her hands to loosen up the air. "You're happy with each other, right?"

Naruto crossed his arms and glared at Neji. "I do feel slightly offended that I thought it was a girl who was writing it not a guy."

"Tch. That's your problem, not mine." Neji retorted. "The only reason I did this is because one, Hinata's infatuation was getting annoying and two, Naruto is too much of an idiot to realize anything."

"I do kind of feel helpless in a way as well." Hinata said, looking away.

Tenten looked a bit hurt before tugging on Neji's sleeve. "What now?"

"We leave. If they're not happy about it, let them be." Neji whispered back. With that, he bid farewell to Hinata and Naruto and went out of the room, taking Tenten with him. Left alone, Naruto turned to Hinata.

"I feel that we owe them something. But, those crude insults are offending." Naruto murmured darkly. Hinata didn't say anything in response. "Let's get them back. By returning the favor or pulling something on them."

"Like what?" Hinata asked. Naruto pondered in thought before a smirk started form across his face. With experience of being a prankster, this was going to be easy.

0.o.0.o.0.

The next day, Tenten met up with Neji again and began their daily walk. "I feel happy for Naruto and Hinata. They look so happy together. However, I'm still wondering, how did you thought that up anyway?"

Neji stopped in his steps and stared at her. "You really don't know?"

"It's amazing that work! You seemed so sure of yourself! Did you do it before or something?" Tenten asked suspiciously. To her surprise, Neji nodded. "Really?! When?"

"Such good memory you have. You were there." Neji muttered.

"I was?"

"…I pulled it off for the first time when I asked you on our first date." Neji said finally. Tenten blinked before realization dawned on her. Of course! She smiled as she remember the details of how they got together. Neji send a letter to her, asking her to go out with him. First, it was a restaurant. Then, the second letter came. This time, it was the bookstore. Finally, the third letter came. Neji asked her to go to the movies. They shared the first kiss there. How could she have forgot about that?!

"I still kept your letters, Neji." she commented shyly. Neji looked away in response. Tenten suddenly felt closer to Neji than ever.

They talked for a while as they walked before Tenten bumped into someone. "Oh, sorry, mister-Lee?!"

The bushy-brow teen turned around in surprise as he faced his team members. "Neji, Tenten!"

"What are you doing here, Lee?" Neji asked before regretting asking as he saw the demon smile form upon his team member's face.

"I was looking for you!"

"Umm, why?" Tenten raised a puzzled eyebrow. Lee laughed before explaining. "I just heard from my good friend, Naruto, that you're good at matchmaking, Neji. So…" Neji stiffened before pulling Tenten away and started walk away. Lee immediately follow. The annoying teen continued, "So, I was wondering…Please help me when Sakura Haruno's heart!"

"Do it yourself, buddy." Tenten snapped as she started to run with Lee still behind them.

"Please, Neji!" Lee yelled, still following them. Neji growled in annoyance.

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Well, that was my attempt. Please, pretty please, leave reviews!


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